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Managed to finally align some free time with perfect weather for 3 great days of riding.

Kicked it off on Friday afternoon with a tough grind at PRKR MTN in Littleton, NH. The trails here are mostly very new and still need some time to fully settle in, but the potential is terrific. The upper portions all include up, up, up. We ended up doing over 1,100' of climbing. The payoff is great views and fun descents. In 2.5 hours we only saw 2 other riders. That lack of activity makes the wildlife pretty comfortable I guess because we had a big ol black bear run into the trail right in front of us!!! We spent the rest of the ride making a lot of noise! The vista point at the top is probably pretty amazing, the Presidentials are right there in front of you, but smoke/haze from the California wildfires obscured the view (pretty crazy!). Like all visits to Littleton, it ended at Schillings

Next up was Kingdom Trails. I rented a Transition Smuggler to give myself a break from lugging the fat bike up climbs. Such a sweet ride. I almost left $4,000 poorer! KT was as crowded as I have ever seen it. Literally hundreds of riders on the trails. Most of my past visits there have been first thing Sunday morning, whereas this ride was mid-day Saturday. I think I'll be going back to the Sunday schedule. Honestly though the place handles the crowds well and it was no big deal. We ended the ride with obligatory beers at the Tiki Bar in East Burke.

After leaving the Tiki Bar we cruised over to Bethlehem, NH to talk with Ian and Marlaina who are at the core of the scene in that town. They recently opened rek'•lis brewing company and are also the ones hand-building the MTB trail network that basically starts and ends at the brewery. It's clear that they are taking a page from the success at Kingdom Trails. Given their enthusiasm it seems almost guaranteed that they are going to knock this one out of the park. The trails aren't quite ready for prime time, but the brewery sure it! Killer Burritos!!!

Sunday morning was a little rough after all the riding and beer stops from the day before. We ended up taking it easy with a couple of recovery rides along the Kanc. This included my first trip up to Franconia Falls. What a great spot for swimming in the Pemi on a hot day!

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Managed to finally align some free time with perfect weather for 3 great days of riding.

Kicked it off on Friday afternoon with a tough grind at PRKR MTN in Littleton, NH. The trails here are mostly very new and still need some time to fully settle in, but the potential is terrific. The upper portions all include up, up, up. We ended up doing over 1,100' of climbing. The payoff is great views and fun descents. In 2.5 hours we only saw 2 other riders. That lack of activity makes the wildlife pretty comfortable I guess because we had a big ol black bear run into the trail right in front of us!!! We spent the rest of the ride making a lot of noise! The vista point at the top is probably pretty amazing, the Presidentials are right there in front of you, but smoke/haze from the California wildfires obscured the view (pretty crazy!). Like all visits to Littleton, it ended at Schillings

Next up was Kingdom Trails. I rented a Transition Smuggler to give myself a break from lugging the fat bike up climbs. Such a sweet ride. I almost left $4,000 poorer! KT was as crowded as I have ever seen it. Literally hundreds of riders on the trails. Most of my past visits there have been first thing Sunday morning, whereas this ride was mid-day Saturday. I think I'll be going back to the Sunday schedule. Honestly though the place handles the crowds well and it was no big deal. We ended the ride with obligatory beers at the Tiki Bar in East Burke.

After leaving the Tiki Bar we cruised over to Bethlehem, NH to talk with Ian and Marlaina who are at the core of the scene in that town. They recently opened rek'•lis brewing company and are also the ones hand-building the MTB trail network that basically starts and ends at the brewery. It's clear that they are taking a page from the success at Kingdom Trails. Given their enthusiasm it seems almost guaranteed that they are going to knock this one out of the park. The trails aren't quite ready for prime time, but the brewery sure it! Killer Burritos!!!

Sunday morning was a little rough after all the riding and beer stops from the day before. We ended up taking it easy with a couple of recovery rides along the Kanc. This included my first trip up to Franconia Falls. What a great spot for swimming in the Pemi on a hot day!

Now I just need to get my legs to work again.

Wait, there is a tiki bar in East Burke? Cool! Not the place I would expect one.

"“I watched all those bikers coming into town and thought that if I could somehow earn a dollar for every tourist, I could keep my sawmill profitable,” said Mathers. Not wanting to charge for parking, he built a three-sided structure off the side of his mill, filled a cooler with local beer, and hung up a string of tiki lights. Sure enough, the bikers were more than happy to find a cold beer at the end of the trail. Now an institution in town, Mike’s Tiki Bar is East Burke’s post-ride destination for tourists and locals alike."